The road to meditation part #2
So, in the last blog, I spoke about ‘noticing’… here’s an excerpt:
Notice what you do/say/react/cope with stressful moments. Notice without judgement – knowing that you are human and this is occurring due to a natural response to keep you ALIVE.
So, I am guessing that you have been NOTICING your reaction to stressful moments. Being the observer in this area will allow you to work out your patterns of behaviour, which will let you do this with other people (maybe I’ll do another blog on this?).
The aim of this is to reduce your fight/flight response, so you’re not on ‘high alert’ waiting for the metaphorical bear at the cave door. Remember what I said in the last blog? This fight/flight response won’t allow you to close your eyes and meditate…the reptilian part of the brain’s instinct is against it. This is why you will find it hard to do. Essentially, you’ll feel a heap of resistance.
BTW if you’re unsure of what this flight/flight response feels like… your physical symptoms could be:
A racing heart
Clenching your fists
Dilated pupils
Shallow, rapid breathing
Tensed muscles – think neck/shoulders or even your buttocks
So what CAN you do?
You can do something completely FREE.
Breathe.
I know; you have probably heard it all before. Just BREATHE! But I also know that you are probably not breathing most of the time correctly.
So, just whilst you read these following few lines, I want you to notice your breathing. Notice if you need to shift around in your position to open up your lungs…to take that deeper breath. That’s it…breathe again, nice and deep and just notice how your body thanks you for it. It may even relax a bit more than you were before.
Just notice each breath.
In and out.
In and out.
Take an even deeper one this time.
That’s it.
Can you feel it? Can you feel your body loving the extra oxygen right now?
Now, I am not a teacher in this area, so my advice is that you just start breathing better, and if you want to research better ways of breathing – Google is your friend.
FYI – If you want a great resource, read Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, in which James Nestor explores how we breathe, how that’s changed and how to do it properly. “You can’t be truly healthy unless you’re breathing correctly.”
Now, of course, if you are feeling better already, then yes, you can start to give meditation a try. But only do 2 minutes! That’s all you need to begin. There’s even a fantastic FREE app called ‘Insight Timer’ where you can select any length of meditation and listen on your earphones.
If you are still struggling with 2 mins, keep breathing, keep noticing and come back for part 3 of this blog.
Emma x